News and views about the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and other legislation, schemes and policies impacting the Right to Education of India's Children.

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Confusion rules, schools may not shut from today

BANGALORE: Confusion prevails over the proposed week-long shutdown by a
section of private unaided schools in Karnataka from Monday in protest
against the sloppy implementation of the Right to Education Act.
The Karnataka Unaided Schools' Management Association (KUSMA) had called
for a July 16-22 shutdown. However, cracks have appeared in the
association with the office-bearers speaking in different voices over
the protest. Some schools are likely to remain shut on Monday, and the
others may stay open.

While KUSMA president G S Sharma told TOI on Saturday that the
agitation was off, secretary A Mariyappa asserted on Sunday that schools
would be shut. Sharma said they are meeting the primary and secondary
education minister on Monday to discuss the RTE issues.
"I'm
getting uncountable number of calls since Sunday morning. The protest is
definitely on. All our member-schools will remain closed from Monday,"
said Mariyappa. He denied any discontent among the association members.
But Mariyappa said he was not in a position to get KUSMA to confirm in
writing on the shutdown. Sharma did not respond to calls on Sunday.
KUSMA has 1,800 member-schools across Karnataka, and 600 of them in
Bangalore. Karnataka has 15,000 private unaided schools and Bangalore
alone has 1,300.
With their leaders speaking in different voices,
schools were a bundle of confusion. While some schools will remain
open, the others claimed it was a one-day shutdown on Monday.
"We
are closed on Monday, but Standard X students are attending their
classes. We will reopen on Tuesday," said Sabina Banu, a teacher at Sri
Saraswati Vidya Mandir.
The National Public Schools, a KUSMA
member-institution, is likely to ignore shutdown call. "All NPS branches
are open this week," said an NPS member, speaking on condition of
anonymity.Central schools won't support shutdown stir
Will private schools remain open on Monday or will they shut down to protest RTE implementation? Nobody is sure of the answer.
The decision by the Karnataka Unaided Schools' Ma-nagement Association
(Kusma) to shut schools across the city from July 16 to 22 has evoked
tepid response from other school associations.
The Karnataka
Federation of Independent School Management (KFISM) has decided not to
join the Kusma protest. The federation has 1,300 CBSE-ICSE
member-schools across Karnataka and 153 CBSE and 172 ICSE schools in
Bangalore.

"Our aim is to speak to the government and sort things out, rather than
cause inconvenience to parents and students. We are meeting the
education minister on Tuesday to sort out the issues," KFISM president
LR Shivarame Gowdapointed out.
"We are with Kusma on RTE issues, but we are not going the bandh way," KFISM acting president GC Chandrashekhar asserted.
Krishna Iyer, secretary-general of the Associated Managements of
Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said, "Whatever be the
reason, how can they victimize parents and students?"
The
government is ready for the talks and disapproved of the shutdown
protest route. Kumar Naik, secretary, primary and secondary education,
said: "Nobody from Kusma has ever come to me or gone to the minister.
It's speaking through the media. There is no issue that cannot be solved
through talks. This is not the attitude. I'm meeting the association on
Monday and my first question will be: 'Why did you choose to hold
people to ransom this way?' This is a central Act and it is work in
progress."